Main mesh hides other objects
sounds like the meshes that you are looking for are probably hidden (since you cant view them in the viewport (object mode) but they appear in the renderer).

Check your outliner and get a closer look on the "visibility" button if it is turned on, the camera button (next to it) it is also a toggle responsible for the visibility of an object when the scenes is being rendered.



Also be ensured that the object is in the desired layer and this layer is visible.



A last option is that you may have changed the layers and the visibility
 in Render Layers tab. So you may need to take a look over there too.